Junction-box.



No. 876,187. PATENTED JAN. 7, 1908.

H. H. HORNSBY.

JUNCTION BOX. APPLICATION FILED In 12, 1906.

ATTORNEY WITNESSES: INVENTOR 6. fdlphui rectangular form and HARRY H.HORNSBY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

JUNCTION-BOX.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 12. 1906.Serial No. 316-465- No. 876,187. Patented iTan. 7, 1908.

two of the sides of the box and two pieces B'may form the other twosides. The pieces B may have tongues b at their edges entering groovesin the edges of invented certain new and useful Im rovei the part A andwhen the parts are assembled ments inJunction-Boxes, of which tfie follthe tongues b may be spread to force the lowing is a specification.metal thereof into hard contact with the the bottom and Be it known thatI, HARRY I-I. HoRnsBY, a citizen of the United States, residing in theTo all whom 'it may concern: j

city, county, and State of New'York, have This invention relates tojunction boxes sides of the groove, thus uniting the parts to of thetype now in common use in equipping form a strong and rigid structure.At the upper edge, ears C may be provided inte ral with the side wallsand bent so that t eir upper faces lie in the plane of the top of thebox; these cars may therethrough by which the cover-plate may be securedthereto. The walls of the box have openings D therethrough for entranceof the electric conductors and a clamp (1 may be secured to the bottomof the box and ara building with an electric lighting system, j as forinstance, those adapted to be mounted in the wall of a room 'andtoreceive and support a switch.

The object of the invention is to improve the construction of such boxeswith respect to the means whereby they are secured to i the supportingstructure.

In installing junction a'cter, the forward edge mately in the same planej the plaster. However, the plaster would afford an insecure support forthe box and if boxes of this charshould be approxiasthe surface of anopening D.

Adjustably secured to each of two opposite sides of the box is a bracketE having a body portion e and a flange e turned at substantially a rightangle to the body e. In the body e is a long slot (2 extendinglengthwise thereof and a screw c is adapted to extend through this slotand into a threaded opening in the wall of the box and thus secure thebracket to the box in the position nails or screws were dr ven throughthe plaster and into the lathing or other woodwork, the plaster wouldprobably be cracked or broken away adjacent to the opening for the box.I therefore provide means for securing the box directly to the woodworkand since different conditions prevail in each installa tion withrespect to the thickness of the plaster and the arrangement of thewoodwork, I make this securing means adjustable relatively to the boxitself. For this purpose I employ a pair of brackets of peculiar shapesuch that they can be secured to the box in various positions affordinga wide range of adjustment and when the proper positions have been foundand the brackets secured to the box, the'brackets mayb fastened to thewoodwork in the usual manner to support the box.

I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention in theaccompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view, Fig. 2 amodified section on the line 22 of Fig. 3 and Fig. 3 an end view of thebox showing different positions of the brackets and Fig. 4 is aperspective view of one of the brackets.

Referring to the drawings, the box is of of such sizeand shape as isbest adapted for the use to which it is j to'be put. It is preferablyformed of one or more sheet-metal blanks which are cut to can thedesired shape and bent to form the walls screws 6 inserting any positionintermediate of those two. The material of the bracket is cut away at *5adjacent to the middle of the bend joining the body 6 and flange e, toform in the flange a cut-away portion of substantially the same shapeand size as the ears C; the bracket can therefore be moved upward untilthe upper surface of flange e is in the plane of the top of the box, theear C lying within the-opening i, as illustrated in 1. Adjoining the cutaway portion i is an additional offset opening 01 of a size sufficientto receive the shank of screw 0 On either side thereof the flange e isslotted at '1').

In installing the box, an opening is made in the wall of sufficient sizefor the box to be inserted therein and at the sides thereof the plasteris cut away to expose the lathing or other woodwork for a distance equalto the width of the flanges e. The operator then determines the positionof the brackets E relative to the box which is necessary to support thebox in the proper position.

be conveniently one by loosening the box in the opening of the box. Thusa single piece Amay form 1 and pressing the brackets back until theranged to grip a conductor cntcringthrough illustrated in Fig. 1 or inthat of Fig. 3 or in This have threaded openings j ustment of flanges eabut a ainst the woodwork. The box is then withdrawn and the screws etightened up to hold the brackets in the positions thus found and thebox is re-insertedin the opening and nails or screws inserted throughthe slots i and into the woodwork to hold the box in position. The slotse are of considerable length and the adi'ustment' thereby afforded fromthe position il ustrated in Fig. 1 to that illustrated in F1 3 1sordinarily sufiicient to provide for t e varying thicknesses ofplastering. If this is not sufficient, however, an increased range canbe obtained by loosening the screws e removlng brackets E and securingthem to the box with flanges e against-the walls of the box and thebodyportions e extending outward therefrom in either of the 'two waysillustrated in Fig. 2. This is readily done by moving the partsrelatively so that the heads of screws e pass through the openings '5and then causing the shanks of the screws to enter the openings i. Thenby tightening the screws the heads thereof engage flanges e ad 'acent toopenings '5 and hold the brackets firmly to the box. In this way thebrackets can be secured to the box either with the body portions e abovethe screws e as indicated at the right of Fig. 2 or with the portions 6below the screws as illustrated at the left of that figure, thus givingtwo adjustments additional to those afforded by slots e By thisconstruction, the securing devices for the box are applied directly tothe woodwork so that breakin of the plastering about the opening for'the ox is avoided and the boxes can be readily secured in the desiredposition as for instance, that in which the top of the box lies in theplane of the surface of the plastering, even though the thickness of theplastering varies to a considerable extent. Furthermore, in cases whereit is necessary to cut away woodwork to receive the securing meansfor abox, the depth of these cuts does not have to be accurately aged as theadthe brackets 'wi l compensate for any inaccuracies.

Having described my invention, what I wardly turned ears at the upperedge thereof, brackets at the sidesof the box, said brackets havingslots therein, screws extendingthrough said slots and entering threadedopenings 1n the sides of the box, and outwardly extending formed tofacilitate securing them to the woodwork of the supporting structure andcut away to provide openin sin which said ears are received, substantiay as described.

2. A junction-box having inte al outwardly-turned earsat the upper edgethereof, brackets at the sides of the box each having two integralportions, one lying at an angle to the other, a slot in one of saidportions and an opening in the other, and screws each adapted to extendthrough either the slot or opening in one of said brackets and to entera threaded opening in the side of the box, each of said brackets beingformed to facilitate securing it to the supporting structure and toprovide an open-' ing in which one of said ears is received,substantially as describe 3. A junction-box having integraloutwardly-turned ears at the upper edge thereof, brackets at the sidesof the box each havinga slot therein and an integral portion extendingoutwardly from the, box, and a screw extending through the slot in eachbracket and securin Y the bracket to the box with said outwardlyextending portion either above or below the screw, saidoutwardly-extending portion on each bracket being formed to facilitatesecuring it to the supporting structure and to provide an opening inwhich one of said ears is received, substantially as described.

This specification signed and "witnessed this tenth day of May, 1906.

HARRY H. HORNSBY.

Witnessesi PETER L. QUINN, H. M. DAVIS.

portions on said brackets

